


We Exist

by harmonia_bloom



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: 74th Hunger Games, Alternative Perspective, Bloodbath, Hunger Games, Inspired by Arcade Fire, Inspired by Music, Minor Character Death, Minor Original Character(s), Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Other, Untold Tributes Stories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-02-23 09:00:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 6,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23008981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harmonia_bloom/pseuds/harmonia_bloom
Summary: Before they became numbers, Tributes had names, ambitions, fears, families... They had stories. We, from the Districts of Panem, remember our children, President Snow (74th Hunger Games).
Comments: 40
Kudos: 60





	1. Libo Yule, 14, District 9

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea and then I needed to write. Most of Tributes' names were created by me, as well as their backgrounds.
> 
> I hope you like it. Comments are really welcomed :)
> 
> Also, if you have any idea for a Tribute background, let me know!

Libo Yule, 14, from District 9, was the first to die at the 74th Hunger Games.

Libo had no close friends, but he was in love with a girl who worked with him at the grain processing fabric. After days of nervousness and sweaty hands, the boy had managed to exchange brief sympathetic words with the girl, whose name still remained a mystery to him. The romance, however, didn't blossom - Libo had never had time and opportunity for it. Before he could ask that pretty girl's name, the Annual Hunger Games was there and the Reaping happened.

And then, Libo was selected to represent District 9 at the 74th Hunger Games.

He was a smart boy, but not even his own family believed that Libo would survive. That little flame of hope set in by the boy's younger sister was extinguished exactly 9 seconds after the Games began. This was just enough time for the inhabitants of District 9 to see their male tribute suffocate in blood after a sharp backstab, courtesy of a District 2 Career Tribute.

District 9 remembers Libo Yule, President Snow.


	2. Fannia Rudolphine, 16, District 10

Fannia Rudolphine, 16, from District 10, was the second to die at the 74th Hunger Games.

Fannia was loved by everyone who knew her. At her family's small farm, the girl hoped to make a difference in the lives of the workers who spent their days tending and slaughtering the cattle raised there. However, after trying to teach math to two or three pawns, the girl realized that these men were too sad and too old for that. The solution was, then, to teach the new generations of her District, the malnourished and poor offspring of those workers.

She was one of the few girls in that part of District 10 who went to school. The others needed to work or take care of their siblings. Some stayed at home nursing their own children, often the result of abuses by Peacekeepers.

Aware of her privileges, Fannia spent mornings learning and afternoons teaching. She often missed whole weekends so she could teach undernourished girls to read and write.

Fannia believed she could make a difference. Her hopes, however, were dashed with the girl in the first seconds of the 74th Hunger Games.

In the end, Fannia was exactly like the cattle in the District she lived in: bred only to satisfy Capitol's desires.

District 10 remembers Fannia Rudolphine, President Snow.


	3. Juniper Cronin, 14, District 9

Juniper Cronin, 14, from District 9, was the third to die at the 74th Hunger Games.

Juniper hated getting up early. It was especially hard on summer days, because the cool morning breeze in the fields was soon replaced by the warm muggle. Juniper's fair skin couldn't stand the sun, and it was not rare for the girl to come home after a long day of plowing, with burns on her back and arms.

It was ridiculous, but the only thing Juniper could think of after being chosen to represent District 9 as a Tribute was that she couldn't wear a beautiful dress at the interview that showed off her muscular body, because her skin was so stained. But to her pleasant surprise, Capitol provided not only a luxury treatment for the Hunger Games Tributes, but also a series of aesthetic procedures to appeal the public.

So on the day of the Tribute Interview, Juniper was gorgeous in a one-piece dress, dazzling everyone who watched.

Unfortunately, her beauty did not save her from a quick death in the Bloodbath moments after the Hunger Games officially began.

District 9 remembers Juniper Cronin, President Snow.


	4. Wade Rivendell, 14, District 8

Wade Rivendell, 14, from District 8, was the fourth to die at the 74th Hunger Games.

Wade took care of his family's atelier after classes, assisting clients that looked for unique clothes, carefully stitched by his parents. This almost exclusive service earned him a considerable following of women, young and old, who occasionally left a piece of cake or candies as a gift to the boy.

Friendly and affectionate, he was admired by much of the wealthiest people in District 8. Wade's grandmother had been a great Capitol stylist who opted for a quieter country life. This, of course, was before the First Great Revolution, when there was still some justice and peace in Panem.

When he was selected to join the Hunger Games, his legion of fans left sweets and other goodies at Rivendell's atelier, hoping that this act would be recognized when Wade returned home victorious. If only Wade's sympathy could save him from the bloody death the boy found at the hands of the District 1 Tribute...

District 8 remembers Wade Rivendell, President Snow.


	5. Laurel Inchcape, 16, District 7

Laurel Inchcape, 16, from District 7, was the fifth to die at the 74th Hunger Games.

Laurel's big dream was to leave Panem. She had memorized every myth about countries where didn't exist rebellions, Peacekeepers or Hunger Games. Countries where there was no competition between districts and local government care - truly care - about people.Where there was plenty of food, education and safety, as well as health guarantees.

It didn't matter where she would go, as long as her home country was far away.

Her friends said she was crazy. After the Great War that had destroyed what was once the United States of America, there was no possibility of crossing borders. Panem was isolated from the rest of the world because, according to popular belief, there were no countries besides Panem.

Laurel refused to believe that. She never felt that she belonged to that place. Even her family's affection was not enough for Laurel to love the grounds and trees of District 7. She was skilled enough to destroy any obstacles that might cross her journey. After all, children in District 7 were raised with axes in their hands for that, right?

When a District 1 Tribute caused Laurel to shed blood in the 74th Hunger Games arena, it was clear that those unknown and longed lands would have to wait for other lives to be discovered.

District 7 remembers Laurel Inchcape, President Snow.


	6. Talon Cofreen, 17, District 7

Talon Cofreen, 17, from District 7, was the sixth to die at the 74th Hunger Games.

The great irony of Talon's life was the fact that, despite living in the papermaking District, it was almost impossible to use that material so that the boy could focus on the great passion of his life: writing.

Talon's mother was responsible for teaching him to read and write. From an early age, he created worlds and characters that rescued him from the harsh reality of being a poor child in Panem. His heroes, mounted on mechanical dragons, cruised skies for adventures and damsels in peril. Tyranny was fought with bravery, love and friendship. There were no limits writing couldn't fight.

However, paper, like most stationery products in District 7, was a costly material. Perhaps this wasn't the perception of those who lived in the wealthier parts of the District, which was definitely not Talon's reality, as he and his brothers worked with tree logs on the largest logging company.

While dying in the arena after his head was practically smashed by the male District 11 tribute, Talon could only stare at the beautiful blue sky drawn by the Gamemakers, imagining his heroes flying over the arena, ready to rescue their creator from that unworthy death.

District 7 remembers Talon Cofreen, President Snow.


	7. Thalia Emmesvell, 15, District 6

Thalia Emmesvell, 15, from District 6, was the seventh to die at the 74th Hunger Games.

Thalia hated walking the streets of downtown District 6. Unfortunately, that was her routine, Monday through Monday, when she needed to walk almost endless blocks between her work at the factory to her home.

The small number of jobs coupled with the massive population growth of the District had created a horde of unemployed, dirty-toothed people searching for bread and some change. As she passed a dirty tavern, Thalia cringed further, trying to hide. Here was always a feeble, practically naked woman trying to make a living on the street to support her addiction to that visceral drug, morphine.

That woman... An accident at work had opened an incurable wound on her leg and left her permanently incapacitated. Unable to cope with the pain and ostracized, widowed and with three children to raise, the woman began to use morphine to make life more tolerable.

Thalia knew the story of that woman because she was her mother. The girl used to look down in a mixture of shame and anger, gritting her teeth as she remembered that her younger brothers depended on her.

Interestingly, it was of her mother that the girl thought as she felt her bones being crushed by a District 4 Tribute.

Maybe a little morphine was a viable alternative at that time.

District 6 remembers Thalia Emmesvell, President Snow.


	8. Chester Hawksand, 16, District 6

Chester Hawksand, 16, from District 6, was the eighth to die in the 74 Hunger Games.

Even though the possibilities were small - in fact, practically nonexistent - Chester dreamed of being an astronaut. His plan was simple and complex at the same time: he would win one of those scholarships that wealthy people in the Capitol offer each year to the best high school students. In the Capitol, he would make influential friends and win over his astrophysical engineering professors. So, with a lot of study and a lot of networking, Chester would be the first astronaut from District 6, the same district that produced equipment for Panem's spacecraft. 

He wouldn't be stingy, obviously. One of his expected collaborations for his country would be to encourage education in the districts. Chester himself would like to offer scholarships to the young and brilliant minds of the districts and promote competitions in mathematics, English, science... He was sure that one day he would be in the Capital receiving medals of honor and decorations. 

It's only a matter of time. At least, it was a matter of time. 

The stars formed the last image that Chester saw before his head was crushed by the District 5 Tribute, in the opening seconds of that damn game.

District 6 remembers Chester Hawksand, President Snow.


	9. Tripp Porter, 15, District 5

Tripp Porter, 15, was the ninth to die at the 74th Hunger Games.

That year had been especially difficult for Tripp, but not in the way it had been with other teens in Panem. Unlike most tributes, the boy had a privileged life. His house was made of masonry and, despite sharing a room with his older brother, comfort was not lacking. His parents were affectionate and his brother was a great friend. Tripp was able to attend school and didn't need to work. He spent his afternoons studying or taking part in extra-class activities. It was at one of these, while playing chess, that Tripp met a person who, for the first time in his life, made his stomach turn inside out.

The only problem was that this person was a boy.

Panem was not exactly conservative, but it was far from being a friendly nation with people considered "different". Homosexual couples lived a veiled reality, since, although homosexuality was not a crime, same-sex couples were often accused and convicted of minor crimes and ended up in separate prisons to "rethink their choices". 

Tripp didn't want that. The boy had grown up with the idea that he would fall in love and marry a girl from his district. Both would have children and carry on a tedious succession that is life. However, when Ronan appeared that afternoon ready to play chess with Tripp, the idea of a marriage to a girl started to look silly and childish.

The two boys became friends. Tripp's desire to be closer to Ronan was latent. He wanted to embrace him, to caress him. Tripp wanted to kiss him. It was only the night before the Reaping that Ronan gave the first signal to Tripp. It happened when they both wept in fear of the next day, which could be fatal for Ronan, whose name had been placed several times so that he could apply for tesserae. That night, on the roof of Ronan's house, the boys held hands for the first time, feeling the silence.

When Tripp's name was announced the next day, he didn't care marriage or children. He just wanted to experience, at least once, what Ronan's lips tasted like. While he choked on his own blood in the arena, Tripp was losing consciousness wondering what it would be like to die holding Ronan's hands.

District 5 remembers Tripp Porter, President Snow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a very important chapter for me, since I'm part of the LGBT+ community. In addition to all the hatred and judgment that an LGBT+ person suffers from society, accepting oneself is still very difficult. I know that. I went through this and, sometimes, I still wonder if I could be any different. When I was younger, I prayed to God to make that feeling I've had for a girl vanish. I wished that it was just a phase. Well, it wasn't, but I'm thankful to Him because, today, I love myself for who I am (most of the time).
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> If you want to, please, leave your thoughts here. Also, if you have any background idea ou something like that, I'll be glad to write about it.
> 
> xoxo, Harmonia.


	10. Ethan Battenberg, 12, District 4

Ethan Battenberg, 12, from District 4, was the tenth to die in the 74th Hunger Games

For a brief moment after being reaped to the Hunger Games, Ethan was not afraid.

Tormented by a harsh reality, the boy was raised by his mother - he didn't met his father, dead after perish to skin cancer when his mother was 7 months pregnant. In the hut by the sea, the Battenbergs wove fishing nets and sold through the villages. Often, the shack in which they lived was destroyed by the summer rains, forcing Ms. Battenberg to swallow her own pride and ask for shelter in the neighboring shacks.

Ethan had no friends. Nobody wanted to play with the son of an impoverished widow. He was just lonely. Ethan's life was working, eating and sleeping. Every day. Repeatedly.

So when Ethan was called up for the 74th edition of the Games, he thought for a moment that he had nothing to lose. In fact, there was something he could gain; after all, it was expected that some older boy, a Career, would take the boy's place as a Volunteer, in order to honor the name of District 4 in another edition of the Games.

With some luck, Ethan could make some friends after that flash of fame that the Reaping Day always brings. His popularity would last for three, four weeks - long enough for Ethan to have a chance to play tag with children his age.

However, the odds weren't in Ethan's favour. No boy dared to volunteer to take his place. No Career, no one who loved him enough to do what the girl from District 12 had done, taking the place of her 12-year-old sister.

12 years. The same age as Ethan was.

Delighted, the boy only realized he was in a death procession when the train left District 4 towards Capitol.

In his last glimpse of conscience in the arena, the boy thought that, at least, when he was stabbed in the back with a huge knife, he had managed to play tag with someone.

District 4 remembers Ethan Battenberg, President Snow.


	11. Prine Fairbain, 13, District 3

Prine Fairbain, 13, from District 3, was the 11th to die at the 74th Hunger Games.

Unlike her peers, Prine didn't enjoy technologies, circuits, parts and all the mystique behind electricity and its Franksteins. However, although she didn't like it, she was obliged to create and build machines for the Capitol, like all middle class teenagers in District 3.

There was almost a look of pity hanging over Fairbain life, but especially over Prine. As an orphan, she lived with her father and three brothers. Prine didn't understand the dynamics the girls in her district were experiencing at the time, spending the hard-earned money on cosmetics to impress boys, flirting in the few moments of recess at school. Not that she disdained those girls - simply she was raised in a completely masculine and pragmatic world. It was not important to look pretty when you had to struggled to get your daily food since childhood. She hadn't even had her first period when she was chosen to join that year's Games. Her breasts were barely visible under the worn T-shirt that Prine wore to work. 

Prine didn't feel like a woman, but just like... Prine. A person. 

So it was a shock when the Capitol transformed her whole to be consumed by the viewers of the Hunger Games. First, waxing. Then, the painted nails, the makeup on her virgin face and, to make matters worse, the exposure. Prine felt like a real clown wearing fancy dress and costumes. She didn't understand the reason for all this, but she realized that the strange inhabitants of the Capitol simply loved it when she staggered, embarrassed, in front of the cameras.

Ultimately, as Prine felt the blade of a sword cut into her stomach, she realized she was right: the whole show wasn't important, as 23 of the 24 tributes in the arena would end up the same, rotting remains in the coffins provided by the Capitol.

District 3 remembers Prine Fairbain, President Snow.


	12. Hardie Aldjoy, 13, District 8

Hardie Aldjoy, 13, from District 8, was the 12th to die in the 74th Hunger Games.

Irony of fate or not, Hardie was, as her name had predicted, hard. The girl felt as if a volcano on her body was on the verge of an eruption all the time. From waking up to bedtime, all Hardie felt was anger, which seemed to run through her pores.

Her red hair and giant frame made her look even more angry, and Hardie took advantage of that. She made fun of the boys and girls who lived in the neighborhood, and if the day was particularly painful, she would hit a weakling who tried to answer her offenses.

So when her name was called on Reaping Day, Hardie couldn't hide an almost macabre smile. There was no living soul in District 8 that understood why the girl was so happy. To tell the truth, even Hardie didn't know why she was like that. The girl didn't understand anything about survival - she just knew that the Games' goal was to get out alive, no matter what. But, at the height of her 13 years, Hardie didn't seek explanations for her feelings; she simply expressed them, regardless of the intensity with which they were projected.

If she understood the anger she felt, she might have realized that the source of everything was the abuses she suffered from her uncles, that lived with her and her parents. Perhaps Hardie would understood that that fury, that urge to be pulled out of her own skin, came from all the times when, during bath, she noticed many cigarette burns that those men caused on her body; or the need to lock the bedroom door when going to sleep, for fear of being woken up by one of her uncles, drunk and naked, trying to hug her during the night, as it happened once.

But Hardie didn't have time to dig into her past, as didn't the other 22 tributes that died in the arena. She was only able to feel anger and more anger when, in a humiliating plea, she begged the District 12 tribute to take her life, so much pain that a sword wound had caused her.

District 8 remembers Hardie Aldjoy, President Snow.


	13. Glimmer Herriot, 17, District 1

Glimmer Herriot, 17, from District 1, was the 13th to die in the 74th Hunger Games.

If you came to District 1, you would surely know who Glimmer was, the astonishing daughter of a craftsman who made flowers out of finely-wrought crystal. Not only was she beautiful, which would be intimidating enough, but she was also smart, friendly and athletic. There wasn't a single flaw in her; the boys wanted to be with Glimmer and the girls wanted to be her.

Glimmer's view of herself, however, was different.

She knew that her biggest flaw was that supposed perfection. Blond hair, fair skin, eyes of a deep emerald green - were characteristics like those that would bring her ruin soon. The girl was smart enough to see unhappiness on the faces of the Victors who roamed District 1, hiding their traumas under a fake smile. Glimmer was not a girl, but a perfect totem, the symbol of power of one district over another in the voluptuous form of a 17-year-old teenager, trained to survive, kill and satisfy Capitol's wishes.

She knew she was capable of being a Victor. The problem was not going through the traumatic experience of the Hunger Games, but the consequences of being one of the most acclaimed and desired women by the powerful ones of Panem. Her appearance was not a quality, but a trap, since her body would be used for the satisfaction of filthy men and women.

When Glimmer volunteered to be a tribute, she knew her misfortune was sealed. If she lost, it would mean a likely painful death. If she won, her life would gradually fade from bed to bed, for years on end until her early old age.

What would be better? Dying perfect, untouched inside and out, youth intact, or living broken, used as an object, fearing every day for the lives of her family and friends?

When Glimmer felt her pulse weaken seconds before her death, despite being aware she was physically deformed, she saw a sigh of relief in the sky. This was not her ruin: she had been just perfect.

District 1 remembers Glimmer Herriot, President Snow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this.  
> I tried to write Glimmer in a way that showed how she could've been smart enough to realize she was doomed. Also, I hate to say this, but Glimmer and Cato didn't match, so I just didn't write about him because, to be honest, he wasn't a character that important for her.
> 
> Please, leave me kudos and comments! :)


	14. Marina Macken, 16, District 4

Marina Macken, 16, from District 4, was the 14th to die in the 74 Hunger Games.

Homeland, honor, duty and discipline - Marina had survived childhood under those words. Daughter of a Peacekeeper, the girl had learned the hard way that in Panem you either kill or you die. Her father, for example, was a first-rate Peacekeeper, a true killer, feared by all who lived in District 4, playing a major security role for their great nation. Her mother, on the other hand, was once a failed prey, killed at the hands of other competent Peacekeepers when trying to cross maritime boundaries; a woman Marina was deeply ashamed of for having ties.

Since she was a child, the girl's main goal was to serve Panem - and how else would she demonstrate the greater happiness of living in that nation than winning the Hunger Games? It would not only bring laurels to her family or her district, but to all citizens of the country, who had already experienced so much pain. 

Only the most brave would answer the call, and that was what Marina did in the year she turned 16, volunteering as a tribute in the place of a pathetic girl who could not control her own crying. As she walked towards a District 4 escort, a kind of high-heeled freak, she felt that her father, behind his Peacekeeper helmet, was proud of his little girl.

Only she understood the importance, the honor that it was to serve Panem as a player in the Hunger Games. Marina knew that her victory would be a glorious glow for Panem, a tribute to the dark days left behind.

When she felt her body collapse, swollen from tracker jackers' bites, a few meters from the lake of the 74th Hunger Games arena, Marina left the legacy of her loyalty to Panem to bring her conscience, little by little, to the position of honor that she would deservedly occupy in your death.

District 4 remembers Marina Macken, President Snow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt myself a little inspired by that song, Horn of Plenty, from Hunger Games' Original Soundtrack, while writing this. I've tried to write from this girl's perspective, as she, a tribute from a Career district, could possible understand her way to inevitable death as a glorious redemption for Panem.
> 
> If you enjoyed, please, leave me comments and kudos!


	15. Gray Jardine, 18, District 10

Gray Jardine, 18, from District 10, was the 15th to die in the 74th Hunger Games.

At age of 5, Gray contracted a disease that atrophied his right leg's muscles. At that time, District 10 suffered from an epidemic of this disease that, besides atrophy an entire body, could lead to death. A rural district like 10 has never had medical resources other than herbs and scarce smuggled antibiotics from Capitol, so luckily, the bad leg was the biggest sequel that the illness left Gray.

The great misfortune is that, if it weren't for his disability, Gray would be a perfect man. Tall, tanned, strong and handsome, son of a middle class family, but that illness happened and the boy got hobbled.

Why strong, if hobbled? Why handsome, if hobbled? He always wondered what his life would be like if it weren't for that damned disabled leg. At least, at home, he had the help of crutches. And in the arena, how could he compete? Would they let him take his crutches?

At the Capitol, Gray was taken to a medical center and doped. And then, when he woke up, like magic, his bad leg was perfect, a replica of his left leg, which was strong and tanned. He would have a chance, he thought. Now he could run, he could fight, he could win the Hunger Games and go back to his District as a perfect man.

However, on the eighth day inside the arena, his legs, now perfect, were not useful to save him from death. 

District 10 remembers Gray Jardine, President Snow.


	16. Otto Pyrmont, 14, District 3

Otto Pyrmont, 14, from District 3, was the 16th to die in the 74th Hunger Games.

If there was something to be admired about Otto, it was his intelligence. The boy understood technology like no other and, due to his family's moderate wealth, his future was guaranteed at a large university on Capitol.

But, oddly enough, technology was not his aspiration. He could even study and work building machines and designing fancy inventions, but his ultimate dream was to be a father.

He admired the men and women in his district who, before the workday, walked with their children to school. That tight hug before a day apart brought an indescribable warmth to Otto's heart, the only child of a single mother who was extremely dedicated to the family.

Despite being young, the boy already yearned to feel the first heartbeat of his future child. He could imagine the child's little hands squeezing his fingers tightly, the light, innocent laugh invading the house, the days outdoors running and playing.

A small mind ready for the great mysteries of the world, encouraged by the support of his father, who - he had promised himself - would be present at all times in the child's life.

However, his wish stayed just as a dream: before he even get the chance to meet his future wife, Otto's neck was broken by a District 2 tribute.

District 3 remembers Otto Pyrmont, President Snow.


	17. Marvel Quaid, 17, District 1

Marvel Quaid, 17, from District 1, was the 17th to die in the 74th Hunger Games.

Wealth and money. Wonderful clothes, sewn by renowned Capitol designers, who would fight among themselves to wear him. Diamonds in exorbitant quantities, enough to pay for all the lives that died to find those precious stones.

That was the life Marvel had been planning to live since he turned 12, when he took place in his first Reaping. He watched the Games from the screens placed by Capitol, marveling not at the killing itself, but at the luxury to which tributes were awarded from the moment they were chosen. The very elegant clothes, the best quality food, people fighting for a nod from the doomed.

The blood Marvel would shed was just another stone he would kick out of the way.

He knew well the price he would pay if he were a Victor in one of those Games, but he couldn't care less. He would take off his own clothes for fat old men and women, who would fulfill his wishes in exchange for some caresses. And why would he be ashamed of that?

(And it was in fame and money and food and diamonds that Marvel thought when he killed the little girl from District 11, seconds before he was killed by the Girl on Fire).

District 1 remembers Marvel Quaid, President Snow.


	18. Rue Clementine, 12, District 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was hard to write. Rue is so precious.
> 
> I hope I can make you smile.
> 
> Xoxo

Rue Clementine, 12, from District 11, was the 18th to die in the 74th Hunger Games.

Or, rather, Rue was the seventh place in those games, which, of fun, there was nothing. This is how the sweet child would like to be remembered, in the most positive way, because it is impossible to speak of Rue with regret. 

She was lightness in heavy times, the smile between tired faces.

Rue liked to sing with her brothers and sisters while harvesting, flying from tree to tree. She admired the sunset after a busy day, knowing that there was no school in Panem that could teach her to appreciate the orange of the sky the way she did. She liked to keep her hair in two bunches on top of her head and laughed when the boy she liked called her "pompoms".

It was like a victorious that Rue felt when she won the friendship of Katniss Everdeen, the girl she has come to admire since volunteering in the place of her younger sister, so blond and beautiful. For the first time, someone was there to look after her, to sing until she fell asleep, an older sister to protect her.

And Rue knew, she had that certainty in her heart that they - the other tributes, the Capitol - they couldn't touch them if they couldn't reach them. Rue, so small, so skinny, ran so fast, so high; Katniss, strong, fearless - those heaps of muscle could never kill them.

But even Katniss and her bow and arrow and her courage could not save her. Rue was not so fast, nor did she flew high enough. 

Before she could even taste the bittersweet taste of adolescence on her lips, death greeted her, as if it was the older sister Rue had always wanted.

District 11 remembers Rue Clementine, President Snow.


	19. Clove Kentwell, 15, District 2

Clove Kentwell, 15, from District 2, was the 19th to die in the 74th Hunger Games.

Clove was good with knives. This was the secret weapon that her adoptive parents, influential people in the district in which they lived, had chosen for her. Her other siblings, some alive, others dead, were also trained: spears, bow and arrow, swords, axes. But for some reason - perhaps none, the surprise of randomness - Clove was given the knives.

The randomness of fate, however, could have given Clove anything beyond those damn knives.

Clove didn't know much about her origins. When she was very young, her parents were killed (but she rather believe that they died naturally) and overnight, she became a member of the Kentwell family. The rules were simple: in exchange for housing and food, at the age of 7, her adoptive parents would choose a valuable skill for the girl to perfect. If at 12 she was considered good enough, Clove would remain part of the family. Sometime between 12 and 18, the girl should volunteer as a tribute.

If Clove failed, she would be sent to one of the countless brothels run by Kentwell investors in District 2, where, if she was lucky and keeped all her front teeth, she would guarantee at least one meal a day.

For the Kentwells, Clove was an investment. Winning or losing the games, the girl would bring the couple large sums of money, thanks to Capitol sponsors, who would definitely be surprised by Clove's skills with knives.

For Clove, however, winning was the only option.

She had worked hard enough to survive until she was 15 years old. Of course, she didn't have to kill anyone during that period - but would it be so difficult to face 23 opponents in exchange for what freedom could be?

She was good. But in the Hunger Games, Clove had to be the best. If she pretended to be that persona so psychotic, crazy, cruel, maybe not only the sponsors would guarantee a comfortable stay through the Arena. Perhaps the other tributes wouldn't cross her path.

Her slight figure, then, was worked on - she was small, yes, but she had ambition, training and talent.

Clove had hope.

And for the longing for freedom Clove was so attached to the killer role that she only realized that torturing Katniss Everdeen, the other Capitol sweetheart, was not the wisest choice when Thresh crushed her head.

District 2 remembers Clove Kentwell, President Snow.


	20. Thresh Evertree, 18, District 11

Thresh Evertree, 18, from District 11, was the 20th to die in the 74th Hunger Games.

There is a certain beauty in the darkness. It was what Thresh had learned after so long getting used to the wet basement of the farm where he lived with his mother, sisters and aunts.

Technically, slavery had been abolished even before Panem. In fact, there was no legal provision for the case of slavery in the country's legal system. Slavery was unthinkable because it would at least require the obligation to feed the slaves - something that even the wealthiest of Panem could not do when the first revolution broke out. But, at least in District 11, slaves existed and lived as servants of the rich society made up of free, white people who held the local money. These slaves, in fact, were called workers. In exchange for their menial services, they would get a house (with luck a hovel or a cellar) and a meal (pigs' leftovers).

It was in that darkness that Thresh was born. In that darkness he had grown up in - the first steps, the first words, the first lash. It was in the darkness that Thresh went into hiding when a revolt in the countryside brought his father, uncles and brothers to death. It was in the darkness that Thresh helped to take care of the helpless little ones, whose parents, dead, represented more suffering for those women, mothers, so stricken with sadness. It was in the darkness that Thresh understood that his life was worth little, but so little, that even the tesserae he earned from signing up for the Hunger Games several times each year could not feed his family.

So, in the arena, Thresh hid in the darkness. There, he could, for the first time since he was born, feel the freedom, the stars kissing his skin, the loneliness that embraced him gently at nightfall.

It was the beauty of the darkness that he observed when the time of his death finally came.

Thresh was finally at peace.

District 11 remembers Thresh Evertree, President Snow.


	21. June "Foxface" Mecha, 14, District 5

June "Foxface" Mecha, 14, from District 5, was the 21th to die at the 74th Hunger Games.

We all make bad choices. It's just some of us got different bad choices to make.

That was what June Mecha had to learn to survive as a child. After her parents' mysterious death, the girl started to live from small scams. Nothing too big, because she knew that if caught, she would be sent to the forced labor camps called orphanages. Sometimes, June would get coins that would guarantee her food for a week, but even then, the girl could not find peace.

June was smart, and no one, not even Capitol could take that away from her. And so, when she was chosen to represent District 5 at the Hunger Games, she knew exactly how to act.

Hide. Attack only if necessary. Follow in the footsteps of those who would be favored in the game.

No one knew June Mecha's story, but everyone was looking closely at Katniss Everdeen - and it was in the shadow of the girl from District 12 that June survived for 8 days.

She fed what Katniss fed. She drank water from the stream that Katniss drank. She followed every move that Katniss made, as sneaky as a fox. 

June had predicted the whole game. Cato would kill Peeta, Katniss would kill Cato and June would wait for the girl to go crazy alone, brooding over the death of her little boyfriend, unable to live with the guilt of having survived.

And Katniss trusted that little boyfriend so much.

So, when Peeta picked a handful of blackberries to eat with his beloved, June promptly put some of those berries in her mouth, feeling the sweet explosion of victory.

But Mecha relied too much on Katniss's caution, forgetting that Peeta was not an extension of the shadow that was supposed to protect June until victory. She should have focused on following in the footsteps of Everdeen, the true Hunger Games' Victor.

Those damn blackberries. June's breathing started to falter; the heart was weakening. Only seconds before she succumbed that the girl realized she had lost the Hunger Games because of a stupid boy, a stupid fruit, a stupid poison.

And worst of all? June wasn't even hungry.

District 5 remembers June Mecha, President Snow.


	22. Cato Ceaser, 18, District 2

Cato Ceaser, 18, from District 2, was the last one to die at the 74th Hunger Games.

Cato was not an antihero. Cato was not a villain. Cato was just a boy.

Not that he had lived a bad or uncomfortable life. His parents were kind and present, whose jobs as administrators in District 2 provided security for the family. His older brothers were already married and had children, chubby cousins that Cato loved. He even had a girlfriend, a beautiful girl with dark skin and big eyes named Sabina, whom Cato intended to marry in the future.

Since he was a child, Cato trained for the Hunger Games, but he kept in his heart the desire that, just as with happened to his brothers, another boy would be faster and volunteer first. But the 74th Hunger Games arrived and no one, no boy even raised his voice to volunteer. Those were the seconds when usually an older big man would volunteer himself to fight and bring not only victory, but the graces and supplies that only a Victor can achieve.

He looked around and realized: that was the moment when he was the oldest big guy. Expectations fell on the boy. Cato should fulfill the obligation, paying with his life for the years of excellent breeding and training that the District 2 gave him.

So, he did. Cato volunteered and he had only enough time to hug his parents and say a painful goodbye to Sabina. Something in the way of the girl who had volunteered to be the female Tribute for District 2, known as Clove, said that, at best, he would end that slaughter in second place, killed by that little girl with black hair.

But Cato had to win, and he would do anything to be able to have lunch with his whole family on a beautiful Sunday day, when he would ask for Sabina's hand in marriage and the two would leave for the Capitol. There, he would ne famous as a skilled mentor for future District 2 tributes and Sabina could study engineering, the way she always wanted to. They would have children, a boy and a girl, and receive family members for Christmas in a luxurious apartment in the central part of the city.

Strangely, when Katniss Everdeen hit her arrow in his hand, causing Cato to fall straight into the slow and painful death that Capitol carefully prepared for him, he did not even think, even for a moment, of the plans he had made. With each tear, with each bite of a genetically modified beast, Cato's conscience slipped to deeper places, hidden under the muscles he had developed for so many years.

The smell of mom's coffee. Dad's tight hug. Sabina's laugh. The plump little hands of his nephews. Clove's shy smile in her interview. That little girl from 11 and her big brown eyes. Peeta's hopeful look. Katniss' fast arrow.

The final sigh. 

Everything was dark now.

District 2 remembers Cato Ceaser, President Snow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I had to pick Ceaser as Cato's last name because, just like the Emperor, Cato was betrayed by those he trusted - the Capitol.


	23. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we finally came to an end, after more than 8 months of writing.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who accompanied me - those who got there at the beginning and those who came later. I am very grateful for your support. This was a difficult year for everyone, but knowing that my work was, in any case, a relief or a reflection brings me comfort.
> 
> Keep fighting. Do not let yourself be just memories for those who stayed.
> 
> I exist, you exist - we exist.
> 
> Let's get over this together <3
> 
> With love,
> 
> Harmonia Bloom

_You're down on your knees_

_Begging us please_

_Praying that we don't exist_

_But we exist_

_We exist_

_We exist_

_We exist_

**\- Arcade Fire**

Katniss looked at that name's list. Girls and boys whose face she didn't even remember, whose lives were worth so little. She could feel the warm blood trapped in the arena, the constant nightmare that haunted her.

"You didn't kill them all, Katniss," Prim used to say when the girl woke up scared and went to sleep in her younger sister's bed. "You had no choice."

But Katniss wondered if she really had a choice. Every day before bed, she tried to remember the list of names that weighed so heavily on her hand now, on her way to District 11, on that damn Victory Tour.

In the beginning, just after the Games, it was easy because Katniss couldn't sleep and spent nights on end writing, in order, the names of the tributes from Districts 1 to 11. Then, she realized that in that way the names started to scramble and she started to remember the order of deaths. Each name, a deafening noise of cannonball in the calm of the night. Every name, some physical characteristic, some word, some minimal memory.

She clung to the possibility of keeping them alive, at least in her memory. It was a tiring but necessary task, Katniss told herself, and whispered syllable to syllable, name, age, district, death order and any memories she might have of those tributes.

Name, age, district, death order.

Over time, the homily made the dead more alive. The 9-year-old boy, Libo Yule, 14, the first to die, who never had the opportunity to kiss the girl who was his first love. The girl of 4, Marina Macken, only 16, whose death was the fourteenth and her dream of bringing pride to the family.

Katniss didn't know if those stories were real or just delusions from feverish and sleepless nights. The only thing she knew was that they, those 22 tributes that died in the arena of the 74th Hunger Games, they lived as she lived in that moment, they existed as she existed in that moment.

"We existed", she repeated softly when she saw that the train had reached the orchards of District 11. "We exist".


End file.
